Mont Blanc 146 Transition?

[Borealis]

I would love to get a definite answer on this 146. My father, now deceased bought this pen ages ago and rarely used it - he replaced it with the Meisterstück 149. (Which he rarely used as well) He simply loved having them:)

The 146 has a grey window . . .tinging on blue, but it is grey. The band is flat and it seems to have the older style engraving - Germany, not W. Germany.

I don't like to part with either, but alas, left-handers don't do well with fountain pens!

As I am not sure of the provenance of the 146 . . .nor its age, I have no concept of value or where to sell them

I would really appreciate any input/advice.

[Chrissy]

I would recommend that you check out the technical information given on another forum here. However, you could be right, this might be a 146 transition.

[ChrisC]

Sadly, that is not the full transitional model that separated the celluloid 50's model and the modern 146.

This article has the full story, but the gist of it is that there are three main iterations of the famous 146:

Each iteration is larger and longer than the previous. Ink capacity goes down in each change to the pen. Stiffness of nibs also tends to increase.

1. Celluloid model: 1949-1960 - 50's style bi-color nib, celluloid body

2. Transitional model: sometime after 1960, before 1973 - 50's style bi-color nib, resin body; cap can either be celluloid or resin

3. Modern model: 1973-present - first a monotone gold nib; later bi-color; full resin pen.

#1 and #2 are worth around $400-800 depending on condition, though #2 almost never comes up for sale. The most flexible nibs tend to be from #1 and #2.

#3 is worth 150-350 depending on condition.

There are many variations within #3, but it has been my experience that such differences do not affect price, given the ubiquity of all the variations within #3.

pictured below in order:

[Borealis]

Fantastic that people care to reply. So appreciate the info

[ChrisC]

This forum is one of the best online communities I've had the pleasure of experiencing. Pull up a stump and sit a spell...We don't bite (:

ps. you took some pretty nice pictures of that pen. camera?

[Borealis]

I am a photographer - nice Nikon, lenses etc.

However, I resort to my iPhone 5s almost always - as I did with these pics. The 6s is even better. A plastic manilla folder in daylight and an iPhone - makes for great close-ups

[farmdogfan]

Maybe it would be a good idea to resize the pics, they are much too big to see without scrolling.

[Borealis]

Thank you . Done -

[farmdogfan]

Now the pics have disappeared (at least on my screen).

[pajaro]

I have one with the gray window and the two tone nib. Bought from a member of FPN, Niksch.

Edit to add: I have wondered sometimes if the nib were part of a restoration, because the clip has no "Germany" or "West Germany," as if the clip were a replacement clip. The pen needed repair to correct skipping, but now works perfectly.

I am a left hander and a lifelong user of fountain pens. The OP might not like fountain pens though personally.